Volume 25, Number 23
A new call for MC Canada
Steve Heinrichs, Will Braun, Jennifer deGroot, Mona Neufeld and Doug Klassen stand outside Mennonite Church Canada during a meeting related to the 7 Calls to Action for Mennonite Church Canada grassroots effort. (Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/7callstoclimateaction)
The Earth is in trouble. As I write, international leaders, scientists and activists are meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, a forum discussing actions the worldwide community must take to address the ongoing effects of climate change, effects that threaten every creature on our planet.
Advent and idolatry
(photo © istock.com/fauk74)
The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year, so it would be appropriate to greet each other with the recognition that a new year has begun.
Readers write: November 8, 2021 issue
(Graphic by Betty Avery)
Readers respond to ‘living simply’
Re: “What is enough?” Sept. 13, page 11.
We are a global family of faith every day
(Photo by Kyle Glenn/Unsplash)
I remember a conversation with my mom when I was a child.
“Why is there a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day, but no Children’s Day?” I asked.
My mom’s answer was rather predictable, “Every day is Children’s Day!”
Gluten free
(Photo: Waterloo North Mennonite Church / Mennonite Archives of Ontario)
“Gluten free” proclaims the sign on one of these desserts at a Waterloo North Mennonite Church potluck in 2011. How have the offerings at your congregational potluck changed over the years? What traditions have endured? If you could convey the history of your congregation through a potluck table, what dishes would be on it?
But then there’s those snakes
(Image by gayleenfroese2/Pixabay)
Our lives—Holly’s and mine, that is—changed to a significant degree. Our oldest granddaughter, Maeve, who is 19, has moved into our home. Maeve comes to us from Ontario, where she left her family behind to begin the next portion of her life.
Reading is (mostly) good
(Photo by Matias North/Unsplash)
What is the most dangerous place in your community? The speaker at a large gathering of Christian university students queried us. “It is the library!” he answered.
Remembrance, regret, resolution
(Photo courtesy of Joshua Penfold)
I miss my Opa.
A few years ago, my daughter Ellie had a school assignment for Remembrance Day to to write about someone she remembered that served in the armed forces. She wrote about her great-grandfather (Opa). Helping her write a few short sentences about his life made me realize just how little I knew about his story, specifically his time in the war.
Two Vancouver churches revitalize through music
A joint youth/young-adult choir performs at the baptismal service on Oct. 24 for Point Grey Inter-Mennonite Fellowship, which took place at Sherbrooke Mennonite Church in Vancouver. (Screenshot by Amy Rinner Waddell)
A church choir is a rarity these days when worship teams predominate; even more rare is one made up entirely of members under age 30 from two different congregations. But singing in a choir is exactly what young people ranging in age from 14 to their mid-20s, from Vancouver’s Chinatown Peace Church and Point Grey Inter-Mennonite Fellowship, are doing.
Seeing God in the lives of others
Wayne and Carry Dueck, pictured in 2019, enjoy the fruits of their labours on ‘The Land,’ where they planted thousands of coniferous trees over the years. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
Ric Driediger is pictured in his office at Churchill River Canoe Outfitters, where he loves to hear about people’s encounters with God while canoeing. (Photo courtesy of Ric Driediger)
Leonard Doell, right, converses with Chief Sylvia Weenie at the 140th anniversary of the signing of Treaty Six, held at Stoney Knoll in 2016. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
Wes Neepin places bag lunches in the pantry box in front of Grace Mennonite Church in Prince Albert in 2017. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
Elaine Presnell is pictured at her workplace, Mourning Glory Funeral Services, in Saskatoon, in 2019. (Photo by Donna Schulz)
Eight years ago, I received an e-mail from then editor Dick Benner, asking me whether I’d consider being Canadian Mennonite’s Saskatchewan correspondent.
Fall 2021 List of Books & Resources
(Photo compilation by Betty Avery)
Theology, Spirituality
Retired church workers archive MC Canada history
Thousands of files languish in the basement of Mennonite Church Canada’s Winnipeg office, holding decades of history but forgotten by many. Jack, left, and Irene Suderman are bringing these records to light, reviewing and organizing them to be stored in the Mennonite Heritage Archives. (Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)
Thousands of files languish in the basement of Mennonite Church Canada’s Winnipeg office, holding decades of history but forgotten by many. Irene and Jack Suderman are bringing these records to light, reviewing and organizing them to be stored in the Mennonite Heritage Archives (MHA).
Writer’s struggles offer reassurance to young mothers
The title of the book is never directly explained, but Zook finds herself licking peanut butter as a way of getting physical nourishment while rethinking the relationship between spirituality and the physical body.
When it comes to motherhood, Shari Zook asks, “Why don’t we get more training for the hardest job of our lives? Why do we feel that we have to do it alone?”
Because she is so open and honest about the challenges of raising young children, this book can provide comfort and reassurance for others who are feeling inadequate.
Podcast creator shares insights into his craft
Ken Ogasawara (facing camera), the producer and host of the podcast Undercurrents, interviews Ly Vang for Episode 10, which was just recently released. (Photo courtesy of Ken Ogasawara)
A screenshot of Ken Ogasawara’s timeline, in the middle of editing an episode of the podcast Undercurrents, which he hosts and produces as part of his communications role at MCC Ontario. (Screenshot by Ken Ogasawara)
Ken Ogasawara counts it a “sacred gift” when he is trusted with another person’s story. As he shapes that into a podcast episode, he is mindful of “doing justice to their story.”
Book mixes Menno history, cocktail recipes
Amateur mixologist Sherri Klassen is the author of Menno-Nightcaps. (Photo by Emma Klassen-Brulé)
There are countless Mennonite cookbooks, but last month saw the debut of what is likely the world’s very first Mennonite cocktail book.
